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Biomedical subjects

D R Southard

Publications and source records attributed to D R Southard.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity as a function of the appraised gender relevance of the stressor.

Previous research suggests that sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity are a function of the gender relevance of the stressor. The authors examined the role of a stressor's gender relevance as a mediator of sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity. The cardiovascular reactivity of 121 male and female college students to the cold-pressor test was compared under feminine- and masculine-relevant stressor instructions. The women were expected to show greater cardiovascular reactivity than the men were to the test relevant to women, whereas the men were expected to show greater cardiovascular reactivity than the women were to the masculine cold-pressor test. Results supported these predictions for systolic blood pressure reactivity, but not heart rate reactivity. Diastolic blood pressure results were mixed. The women showed greater diastolic reactivity than the men did to the feminine-relevant test, but the men did not show greater diastolic reactivity than the women did to the masculine test. The influence of sex differences in cognitive appraisal of situations on cardiovascular reactivity and coronary heart disease is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The Type A belief system: relationships to hostility, social support, and life stress.

Certain core beliefs may underlie the Type A behavior pattern, predisposing individuals to health problems and impaired interpersonal relationships. Previous studies have revealed that the Type A Cognitive Questionnaire (TACQ), a self-report measure reflecting these beliefs, is indeed related to emotional distress. The current study assessed the TACQ's relationship to aspects of the interpersonal environment, including perceived social support and stressful events. It also investigated the TACQ's relationship to subtypes of hostility (ie, cynicism and paranoid alienation). Subjects were 111 college undergraduate volunteers. As hypothesized, the TACQ was significantly related to poor quality of social support and to greater perceived life stress. The TACQ appeared more strongly related to cynicism than to paranoid alienation. Findings were generally more pronounced for males. The discussion suggests that Type A beliefs may predispose individuals to health problems through impaired interactions with their interpersonal environment.

Achievement↗
PubMed1991

Sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity: effects of the gender relevance of the stressor.

Suggests that sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) in past research are a function of differences in cognitive appraisal of stressors as masculine or feminine tasks. In the present study, we examined the role of the gender relevance of the stressor as a mediator of sex differences in CVR. The CVR of male and female college students (n = 95) to the cold pressor test (CPT) was compared under masculine and gender-neutral instructions during an anticipation phase, a stressor phase, and a recovery phase. Men were expected to show greater CVR than women to the masculine CPT but not to the gender-neutral CPT. Results supported this prediction for systolic blood pressure reactivity and heart rate reactivity but not for diastolic blood pressure reactivity. The potential influence of sex differences in appraisal of situations on CVR and coronary heart disease is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The influence on blood pressure during daily activities of a single session of aerobic exercise.

Previous research has examined the effectiveness of a single session of aerobic exercise in lowering blood pressure responsivity to the subsequent presentation of a nonexercise stressor in the laboratory. This case study was designed to explore the possibility that a single session of aerobic exercise might lower blood pressure for up to 4 hours postexercise as the subject engaged in his usual activities at home and at work. The subject was an untrained, unmedicated, borderline hypertensive who underwent ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as he maintained a normal schedule of activities over a 5-day period. On 2 of the 5 days, the subject exercised at 8:30 AM for 30 minutes at 70% VO2max. Blood pressure readings on days when the subject read for 30 minutes were compared with readings on days when he exercised. He showed an average reduction in systolic blood pressure of 26.4 mm Hg at 2 hours after exercise, 24.2 mm Hg at 4 hours afterward, and 12.2 mm Hg at 9 hours after the exercise. Changes in diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were smaller and less consistent. The authors concluded that the modifying influence of a single session of aerobic exercise on blood pressure responsivity to subsequent laboratory-based stressors may also extend to the natural environment. The discussion addresses theoretical, methodological, and clinical considerations in the use of aerobic exercise to modify excessive blood pressure reactivity.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Covariation of mood and blood pressure during daily activities.

The relationship between blood pressure (BP) and self-reported mood states was examined for 49 subjects in their natural environment. Subjects performed their usual activities during a 2-day period and recorded their BP using a semiautomated BP monitor at predetermined intervals. Adjective checklists describing mood states and perceptions of the environment as stressful were completed concurrent with each BP measurement. A correlational analysis of average BP and average mood state ratings was performed along with a paired t-test analysis of mood states associated with high versus low BP. The results show that holding anger in correlated positively with average SBP and negatively with average HR. Neither anger arousal nor the expression of anger arousal was able to distinguish between high and low BP readings. The Type A adjective cluster discriminated between high and low SBP as well as between high and low HR readings. The cluster of negative moods also discriminated between high and low SBP. Perceptions of the environment as hostile and demanding discriminated high versus low SBP and high versus low DBP. The discussion focuses upon the value of repeated-measures designs in examining mood/BP relationships as individuals ambulate in their natural environment.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1986

Relationship between mood and blood pressure in the natural environment: an adolescent population.

We examined the relation between psychological variables and blood pressure (BP) as 28 adolescents engaged in their customary activities over a 24-hr period in their natural environment. Each subject had previously participated in a laboratory study of cardiovascular reactivity. During the ambulatory monitoring period, subjects monitored mood state, perceptions of the environment, and ambulatory BP at 30-min intervals. Mood ratings and BP were averaged across the waking hours. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity to laboratory stressors was significantly correlated with average SBP in the home environment. Ambulatory SBP was positively associated with worried, hostile, depressed, and tense mood ratings as well as perceptions of the environment as hostile, demanding, and noisy. Ambulatory diastolic blood pressure was correlated with hostile, depressed, and upset mood ratings as well as with hostile and demanding perceptions of the environment. In general, average ambulatory BP appeared to be associated with negative emotions and perceptions of the environment.

Adolescent↗